PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) shares shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $148.21 and last traded at $148.28. 1,384,745 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,722,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PEP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PepsiCo from $158.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.47.

PepsiCo Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. PepsiCo’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepsiCo

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in PepsiCo during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 73.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.